Alumnus Travis Bristol (PhD '14, Education Policy) spoke at the U.S.Department of Education's National Summit on Teacher Diversity about his research, which focuses on practices that support teacher and student learning and the policies that enable and constrain teacher workplace experiences and retention. In an op-ed for The Washington Post adopted from the speech, Bristol explains why it matters to have a diverse teaching force and provides recommendations for how to accomplish it.  

Bristol is a former high school English teacher in New York City public schools and a teacher educator with the Boston Teacher Residency program. He is now a research and policy fellow at the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education. In the fall, Bristol will join the faculty of the Boston University School of Education as an assistant professor.   Bristol’s recent study examined how black male teachers’ school-based experiences affected their job satisfaction and decisions to stay or leave the teaching profession.  

During the summit, he shared the following recommendations for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers: 

*First, researchers should explore how teacher preparation programs are organized to support the unique needs of pre-service teachers of color. If the demographics of teacher candidates shift, should the course of study in traditional certification programs also shift to meet the needs of these new recruits?" 

*Second, practitioners should begin to tailor professional development that responds to the experiences teachers of color face. 

*Third, policy changes should be enacted to increase, support, and retain teachers of color.  For example, schools of education should drastically reduce the cost of attaining certification. 

To read the op-ed in the Washington Post, go here:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/05/15/the-troubling-shortage-of-latino-and-black-teachers-and-what-to-do-about-it/    

For video of Bristol's talk, go here:  http://edstream.ed.gov/webcast/Play/129c4d2da00b4402b3bfc2b873c49f9a1d

Published Wednesday, May 25, 2016